Life in a Jar

Today, a heroine passed away in Poland.

In the early 1940's, Irene Sendler smuggled more than 2500 Jewish children out of a Warsaw Ghetto, finding them families to live with and changing their names to protect them. She was eventually captured and tortured by the Gestapo. They broke her feet and legs. But she never betrayed her associates nor any of the children she saved, whose real identieies she kept in a jar. She was sentenced to die, but officials were bribed and she managed to escape.

Even after that, she continued her activist work. The Nazis pursued her for the remainder of their rule.

From what I've read of her, she would object to my terming of her as a hero. "The term 'hero' irritates me greatly. The opposite is true. I continue to have pangs of conscience that I did so little," Sendler said in one of her last interviews. (from the article linked to above)

Her story remained mostly unheralded until 4 Kansas student researched her and created a play about her life.

When I read her story this morning, I had to post on what I consider a true hero. She may not have done as much as she thought she should have, but she did more than most. And it puts a lot of web drama in perspective.

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://melanylogen.com